Brewpubs, along with most restaurants, took a hard hit after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but average barrels per pub rose for the second year in a row in 2005.

The microbrewery segment is strong on its own, not just as a farm team for the regionals, and there are a lot more new breweries coming along quite well.

In 2005, regional craft breweries might have felt they were experiencing a flashback to the heady days of the mid-1990s, when annual double-digit growth seemed the norm.

Among the top companies in the large brewery segment, Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller, and Molson Coors all suffered declines in shipments, while imports gained market share.

Fueled by news of the industry’s 9% growth and a rousing keynote address from Sam Calagione, the Craft Brewers Conference in Seattle April 11-14 was a big hit.